WRAP research says 71% of plastic film could be recycled

The findings come in a report published today, which looks at waste film produced by the commercial and industrial sector, including packaging and shrink wrap film and heavy duty sacks, as well as plastics used in agriculture such as silage wrap.

The report identified the main barriers to collecting this material as transporting material and the high costs involved.

Michelle O’Riley, WRAP’s materials project officer for plastics, said: “The key barriers emerging from the study are common to most types of plastics recycling in the UK and include the cost of separation for waste generators, the quality of separated material, a lack of space at retail outlets and regional distribution centres for holding loose or baled film and a lack of infrastructure.”

Pira International, authors of the report, suggested some options for companies looking to overcome these barriers and recycle their plastic film.

Retailers

Retailers producing small amounts of plastic scrap should work together to pool tonnages so collections are more cost effective, the report said. Backhauling waste plastic film to a central location such as a regional distribution centre to reduce transport costs was also recommended by the report.

To improve the economics of commercial plastic film recycling, Pira said that waste generators could improve the quality of their material to get a better price by sorting the film at source.

For plastic film from agricultural sources, the report suggests reintroducing an upfront levy to cover the costs of transport and recycling.

WRAP’s objectives for its plastics programme include a target to ensure and additional 11,000 tonnes of non-bottle plastics are recycled.

Ms O’Riley said: “If recycling levels are to improve significantly, a more long term and structured approach to waste packaging film is needed and WRAP will be using the data and findings in the report to inform future work under its plastics programme.”